My daughter Grace is having a bone marrow aspiration right now to see if her cancer is gone. She was scared of getting an IV today, though she’s had dozens before. She wore her friend’s necklace to help her feel braver. It was Bailey’s necklace first. After she passed away at two-years-old, it was given to Hazel. Hazel was seven when she passed away a month ago. Both friends died from cancer. Grace, Bailey and Hazel all lived within miles of the Santa Susana Field Lab. After Hazel died, my daughter Grace started talking about the backlog of fears that have pushed her PTSD to heartbreaking levels. The death of her friends has shaken her to the core. But I was surprised to learn that she’s also been terrified about the Santa Susana Field Lab. I thought I had shielded her from the fear of it. I never talk about how I worry on windy days, when the wind can blow radioactive dust off the mountain and into our backyard. She knows she’s not allowed to eat the oranges from our tree, but I just said they weren’t safe, not that they could be contaminated with nuclear waste. I thought she couldn’t comprehend the danger. She’s just a kid. But she’s incredibly smart. She put two and two together and realized that if the SSFL had been cleaned up, she may have never had cancer. She doesn’t feel safe at home because she is capable of understanding that radioactive waste can hurt kids. Sometimes I wonder why an eight-year-old understands the problem more than the adults at Boeing and the California Department of Toxic Waste do… She’s awake from her procedure now. She cried from the pain for just a little bit but the procedure went well and in a week we’ll know if she’s still cancer free. The nurse taking care of her in recovery remembered us from the first time Grace had cancer in 2014. “I’ll never forget how badly Grace had mucositis after chemotherapy,” she said. (Mucositis are painful ulcers and Grace’s entire mouth, throat, nose, and GI tract had been white from them). “I’ll never forget how brave she was and how you helped her cope,” she said. It was one of the nicest compliments I’ve ever had, but in a flash I was back in that moment. I could remember Grace in bed, addicted to morphine, unable to walk, play, smile, or eat. I could smell the rubbing alcohol and hear the beeping from the dozens of pumps and monitors she was connected to. She was four years old then. That memory haunts me. Bailey and Hazel had similar childhoods. Same for the other fifty kids in our community who’ve had cancer in the last six years. And it’s why we need your help. We’re traumatized. Our kids, their siblings, the parents, the grandparents, the friends… there’s only so much we can do on our own right now as we try to heal our families mentally and physically. We need your help to share our petition, because unless the nation stands behind us, Boeing will refuse to clean up the Santa Susana Field Lab. Please take a minute to help us spread the word and share our campaign on Facebook using this link: https://bit.ly/2Id4sqf. I’m hoping that as the petition grows, Grace will feel safe again knowing that there are others fighting with us to completely clean up the Santa Susana Field Lab. #SantaSusana